Tarte au citron traditionnelle

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A crisp, buttery crust with smooth, tangy lemon custard sum up this beautiful “tarte au citron traditionnelle” (classic French lemon tart). Unlike the Lemon Meringue Pie, this tart does not traditionally feature a meringue top.

 

Serves 8

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: about 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • One standard pack of ready-made short crust pastry
  • 250 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6-7 lemons)
  • Zest of 2 lemons (organic if possible)
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 170 g butter (cubed)
  • 4 large eggs + 4 large egg yolks

Method

Pastry

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
  • Roll out the pastry to a circle approximately 12 inch in diameter. 
  • Transfer the pastry to a greased 9 inch tart tin. 
  • Trim the sides and prick the base with a fork. 
  • Cover with baking parchment and a layer of baking beans (you can use any dried bean, rice or even pennies if you don’t have baking beans).
  • Bake for 20 minutes. 
  • Carefully remove the beans and parchment and bake for a further 10 minutes, until the crust is golden. 
  • Set the tart shell aside to cool (still in the tin). Leave the oven on.

Tart filling

  • Make sure that you have a fine mesh strainer and the tart shell ready within arm’s reach.
  • In a medium saucepan and off the heat, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, salt, egg yolks and eggs. 
  • Add the cubed butter and turn the heat to medium. Whisk slowly until the butter is all melted. 
  • Continue whisking steadily for several minutes until the mixture thickens to a thin custard consistency.
  • Immediately pass the lemon filling through the fine mesh strainer, directly into the tart shell. 
  • Using an offset spatula (or back of a large spoon), smooth out the top of the filling. 
  • Bake the tart for 5 minutes, until the filling has slightly set and turned a shade deeper in colour.
  • Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve chilled.

My tips:

  • You can of course make your own shortcrust pastry. Double click here for a recipe.
  • I love the tanginess of the tart but you could serve it with cream or crème fraiche to offset the tartness.
  • When making the filling, make sure you keep to a medium heat and do not over whisk, as it will turn to custard.

 

 

 

 


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